Hobbyist Michael R Weekes believes that tiny homemakers haven’t gone far enough “to do more with less”, so using the ideas of Buckminster Fuller, he built what he calls “the lightest 115 square feet of living on the planet”. At 1500 pounds, the 8-foot-wide, 14-foot-long Lifepod is what Weekes calls “the most house that can be built on a Jet Ski trailer” and pulled by a regular car.

Inspired by Bucky’s geodesic structure, Weekes then asked “how do you take a dome down the road?” His answer: flip two 8′ diameter domes on their side and connect them with a 10-sided cylinder. Inspired by the water droplet- “Nature’s most robust shape”-, the tiny mobile home was built using 2-by- 2 lumber and a Lauan skin (a cheap plywood commonly used as a flooring underlay) and waterproofed with TPO (a flat roofing material) heat-welded together.

The tiny pod is equipped with a kitchen (microwave oven, sink and space for a refrigerator), bedroom (convertible sofa to double mattress) and bathroom (shower, composting toilet), plus hot water tank. The unit is powered with an electrical hookup, though Weekes says 300W solar panels would fit perfectly on the roof and could power the entire setup.

Weekes has traveled 1000 miles with the towable shelter and continues to try to improve the design. “The world hasn’t gone as they could have yet with the materials and the process and the technology. So let’s use some of what Buckminster Fuller was talking about in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s when there wasn’t really a recognized need for it and let’s apply that to today’s problems which are bigger than ever.”

Weekes sees the Lifepod as being idea as emergency housing, homeless shelters or for Millenials when they first move to an over-priced city and are struggling to find housing.

• For more info (questions, plans, etc) contact Mike: enjoylifepod@gmail.com